Networking

Use cases for the Internet of Things have diversified quickly, but most applications are designed to achieve one (or more) of the following objectives: obtaining data for data-driven business decisions; having the capability to remotely control and monitor assets, such as digital signage or city lighting; and automating operations, such as a manufacturing production line.

Traditionally, the network infrastructure that supports business is focused on indoor switches, routers and access points. With the IoT revolution, often that’s the initial plumbing required to connect sensors, physical machines and wireless devices to the network. In recent years, companies have begun to expand the enterprise infrastructure and reach outside of the four walls of the business, leveraging IoT technology to work in new spaces that were previously unconnected — for example, with switches and routers hardened for outdoor environments connecting mobile devices back to business applications. Whether it’s controlling, monitoring or automation that’s needed, we’re no longer limited by building boundaries.

Advancing IoT yet again brings up three major challenges, and that’s where we’ll see a new wave of technological evolution.

Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) play a crucial role in protecting organizations against emerging threats. These advanced network security guardians can scour inbound and outbound traffic on the network edge and in the data center for signs of intrusions and malicious activity, blocking potentially dangerous data before it reaches its destination. Many organizations have deployed NGFW technology as an integral component in their cybersecurity programs.

At the same time, organizations are fine-tuning their cloud strategies. Whether they’re adopting an all-in, cloud-first strategy or selectively using cloud services as part of a hybrid offering, the reality is that sensitive business data now resides both in our own data centers and in those run by cloud partners. Cybersecurity and networking teams must be able to defend that information from attack everywhere that it resides, or attackers will seek out the weak points in an organization’s cybersecurity architecture.

Cybersecurity leaders should integrate their NGFW and cloud computing strategies to better protect organizational assets. The best way to do this is to consolidate on a single NGFW platform and use it across both cloud and on-premises network systems. NGFW vendors offer virtual appliances and software subscription models that allow for easy cloud deployment, anticipating this approach. Let’s take a look at four drivers for this consolidation.

This summer, with support and guidance from our partners at Cisco, coworkers from CDW came together for a friendly Meraki hackathon. Over the course of two days, each of the four teams worked on designing and implementing applications based on Cisco Meraki wireless technology.

As with any hackathon, part of the challenge was quickly brainstorming ideas, communication among team members (especially while meeting virtually), and working with people you may not have interacted with before. Despite these challenges, all four teams were able to overcome and adapt, resulting in the production of interesting and potentially viable projects that would enhance our services to benefit our customers the most.

For years, agility has been a guiding principle for many organizations, but the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated its importance. In the spring, many leaders approached the pandemic as a short-term challenge, one they could overcome with temporary suspensions or ad hoc structures.

Today, leaders are developing solutions that will be sustainable for the next several months, a year or perhaps even longer. This pivot calls for organizations to resume operations, but to do so in a manner that prioritizes public health. Many observers, myself included, believe these shifts will ultimately represent lasting changes to how we work, learn and collaborate.

This past April, the FCC adopted new rules for the 6GHz band (5.925GHz – 7.125GHz), freeing up 1,200MHz of spectrum for unlicensed use. This new amount of spectrum was dubbed Wi-Fi 6E by the Wi-Fi Alliance in January to establish a common industry name to identify devices that will be able to use the 6GHz allocation.

While the Wi-Fi industry has continued to expand and innovate since the inception of 802.11b, this spectrum addition, which more than doubles the amount of previously existing channels, is set to become the biggest innovation driver in wireless today.

With more people working remotely, end users must have faster access to critical information. Edge environments move that critical information closer to the end user, thus making them more efficient. This is the same concept streaming services use to distribute content to their users.

Imagine watching a movie in New York, but its content sits in California. That movie would freeze and pause so many times during the viewing that you would probably turn it off. By moving that content to New York, your movie would play seamlessly and you would be more inclined to watch additional content from that streaming service.

These edge environments are important to your business today because they keep your coworkers productive and your customers coming back. I’m going to provide some guidance on the questions that need to be asked (and answered) when setting up your edge environments.